Devotion
God still writes letters to Babylon
“These are the words of the letter that Jeremiah the prophet sent from Jerusalem to the surviving elders of the exiles... whom Nebuchadnezzar had taken into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon.”
Jeremiah 29:1
Before God says anything about gardens or welfare or plans, notice something simpler: He sent a letter. He did not go silent when His people ended up somewhere they never wanted to be.
These families had been marched out of Jerusalem and resettled in a foreign empire. They lost their homes, their temple, and their sense of where God could be found. In the ancient world, losing your city usually meant your god had lost too. So a letter from God's prophet, arriving in Babylon, is a declaration that God is not confined to Jerusalem and has not lost track of His people. He speaks to them right where they are, not only where they wish they were.
Practice
There is probably a place in your life you would not have chosen. A diagnosis, a job, a town, a season of singleness, a marriage that is harder than you expected. The temptation is to believe God will start speaking again once you get out of it. Today, do the opposite. Open your Bible in the middle of the unwanted place. Read these verses out loud where you actually live, not where you hope to live someday.
Prayer
Father, I have been waiting to hear from You on the other side of this. Thank You for speaking to me here instead. Help me stop treating this season as a waiting room. Open my ears today. Amen.